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When Tony Popovic eventually assembled his initial Socceroos squad, the new coach detailed a series of requirements. The majority were straightforward and direct – suitable given the disruption around his sudden appointment, after Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with under three weeks to prepare for critical 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

Popovic maintained that any player who aspired to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to adopt an “elite” attitude to deserve, or continue to earn that distinction. But there was another theme. Not so much an order and an invitation to excel – and one that has been cast sharper into perspective with any step taken on the road towards the World Cup in North America.

“My hopes were to do something remarkable, in my first talk to the players,” Popovic says. “That stays constant.”

Just over a year on from that meeting in an Adelaide hotel, a lot of other things have changed, even if Popovic’s goals stay the same. The coach, for one, looks really settled as Socceroos head. The 52-year-old’s image for strictness differs greatly with the expansive and at times jovial figure engaging openly for over an hour in what have become frequent interviews with football media. Likewise have the results of his team progressed, with thoughts of a defeat to Bahrain and tie with Indonesia seeming quite distant after wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia in June secured the Socceroos’ spot in next year’s worldwide tournament.

Those victories came as part of an 11-game unbeaten run under Popovic, one that was only broken away by the United States earlier this month. It’s form that has taken the Socceroos to the unlikely precipice of crashing pot two in the World Cup draw. The outcomes of November exhibition games against Venezuela, currently ranked 50th in the world, and 13th-ranked Colombia – as well as Ecuador’s games against Canada and New Zealand, and the last games of European qualifying – loom large in this regard.

Even though Popovic concedes that he started in the job thinking to only be able to count on a core group of players, he now feels the group he can trust has grown. This is not only through the rise of young players such as Nestory Irankunda, Max Balard, or Mohamed Touré as genuine international players. There are also the examples of Miloš Degenek’s reappearance from the sidelines and Paul Izzo’s blossoming into a genuine Socceroos keeper with the potential to challenge Maty Ryan.

“The squad has totally changed in my mind – of what’s possible with players that have come in,” Popovic says. “I first thought, ‘OK, this is my group; I don’t fully have much apart from this. Just manage and make them better.’ Now, I believe like there are 15, 20 players that have joined that, and I’m convinced there are others to come that I believe can help make us better as a squad at the World Cup.”

This unexpected rise of talent, and the shift in thinking it has inspired in Popovic, has paved the way for players on the periphery of the squad. Even those not yet regarded among those group can remain optimistic that, by June next year, they could be on the plane. A player like Adrian Segečić might be about to sit out a month of playing due to an ankle injury, but if he – or any other player – persists to play regularly, then the coach is stating plainly they’re in with a shot of being part of his plans.

“I don’t want to put a cap or a halt on that – to announce in March that this is our squad, and there may be one or two more new faces,” Popovic says. “No, I want every player to feel that they have an chance. Why can’t there be another player that steps up in June?”

But this broadening, in a way, returns us to Popovic’s first speech as Socceroos head coach. For just as much as he wants players to surprise him, to do something outstanding and rise above the expectations others have for them, he wants his team to have the same philosophy.

“Saying I want to do something unique is just ‘we don’t want to have limits’,” Popovic says. “We don’t want to pigeonhole ourselves into ‘let’s be competitors at the World Cup, and let’s go home and pat each other on the back for being there’.

“I repeat it to the group: one day, Australia will go a long way in the World Cup. And why not this group? Why do we have to wait two or three World Cups, when I’m observing and praising something remarkable from the Socceroos? Why should we have restrictions? Why not do it now?”